Guest Blogger Sara: “I’m With the Band”

The Band, hard at work at a dress rehearsal

Whether we’ll admit it or not, every one of us has had one of those “this will never happen to me” moments. It could have been while babysitting in high school, or watching the looks on parents’ faces as their children screamed in the toys aisles at any given store. But we’ve all been there and sworn to ourselves that no matter what people said our children would be different. Because, you see, our children would not get the chance to play with loud, obnoxious, battery driven toys. That’s right, now you can remember the moment and can probably even still feel the chills run up and down your spine as you quivered in the corner while babysitting some out of control, rambunctious children as they screamed and played those toy jingles over, and over, and over, and over, and over again. Your head began to pound and a cold sweat broke out on your brow and in that moment you promised that your future children would have only cardboard boxes, wooden blocks, and puzzles to play with for the rest of their lives. I was definitely one of those people – determined to stand out and offer my children avenues of exploration that went beyond a battery operated or loud toy. I was determined to stand up to my children’s grandparents and let them know that on the off chance that they decided it was a good idea to buy my child anything that would be remotely annoying, they could count on it being thrown away. Yes, I was determined.

So I got pregnant, right, and held my ground steadfastly through the nine months, reminding people of my vow and letting all family members know that edifying toys alone were allowed to be purchased for our child. So, I had the baby, right, and all seemed to be going smoothly. Cute books here, a nice outfit there, and a sweet little blanket maybe. Then came my son’s first Christmas and, wouldn’t you know, that even at his very young age, my son was a hardcore drummer/musician through and through. He pounded on everything and even, to my husband and my surprise, could keep some sort of rhythm. It was incredible. We were so proud. So what did we do but rush out and buy him the most adorable ensemble of loud, obnoxious, perfectly wonderful musical instruments. I’m not talking baby stuff, here, this set came complete with a whistle, trumpet, drum, symbols, tambourine, maracas, and castanets. Ironically enough I don’t hear noise when my son is playing his drum, or when he and his friends are creating a chorus of music together. I hear joy and suddenly, I get it – we as parents will go to crazy lengths to bring a smile to our kids’ faces and now all I can say is…I’m with the band!